According to local media, India’s Supreme Court will most likely be able to hear final arguments from those against the ban imposed on cryptocurrency exchanges by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today (September 26th.)
Originally, the Court was set to hear arguments on Tuesday, but an update from the Financial Express noted the judiciary body was unable to take up the matter then.
Sitting to hear final arguments is the latest step in a long-running saga between the Supreme Court, the RBI, and cryptocurrency exchanges in India.
Pushing Back Against A Ban
From last December to February of this year, the government of India maintained cryptocurrencies were not seen as legal tender.
On April 5th, the RBI said any entity that was regulated by them would have to end any business relationships with “firms and individuals dealing in cryptocurrencies.”
A number of petitions were filed against this decision, and on July 3rd, the Indian Supreme Court denied to grant interim relief, which fully implemented the RBI ban on July 6th.
Later in the month, the RBI stood fast, explaining to the Supreme Court how cryptocurrencies were not able to be regulated by the state and will also facilitate illegal transactions.
After time was granted to respond to petitions, the RBI and the central government were set to have a hearing with the Supreme Court on September 12th.
This hearing was postponed because many respondents were not actually able to file their responses, according to the Financial Express.
A Big Hit To The Industry
The RBI’s rationale behind their decision is to keep investors safe, especially those who might have been in the middle of severe price fluctuations or scams.
Cyrptocurrency exchanges who have challenged the ban say they have largely kept in line with anti-money laundering and know-your-customer stipulations.
Exchanges have also reportedly expressed their willingness to comply with more regulations by authorities.
According to Quartz, the exchange industry has suffered mightily since the ban. One exchange, Unocoin, who previously had more than 200,000 traders each month, had just about 20,000 in the months after July 6th.
